Stop #4 Pequod's Pizza

2207 N. Clybourn Ave.

Chicago, IL 60614

pequodspizza.com

Well, it’s official: The Chicago Pizza Challenge has a new leader! Pequod’s Pizza has taken the lead. Things with Pequod’s were pretty great from the moment we walked in the door until we left. It’s a family-owned establishment, and it felt like one. The staff was incredibly friendly, with at least 4 people thanking us for coming as we walked out the door. Pequod’s is your typical family-friendly pizza joint -- and let me tell you, they played some great tunes! This sentiment was echoed by several members of our group. Dan even went as far to say that “Taylor [Swift] could turn the atmosphere at a funeral into a 5.” (That girl just can’t lose!) They played hit after hit -- it definitely had our group singing along. The positive points did not stop there; the pizza definitely improved the experience. This was, overall, a great dinner, highlighted by our guest panelist: Judy Smith (Kevin’s mom in town for a visit)!

The only negative thing that anyone really had to say about the Pequod’s is that they do not offer any preset pizza combinations -- don’t worry, we have some suggestions for you if you decide to hit up Pequod’s (which we strongly encourage you to do).

Pequod’s Average Score: 4.26/5

Service: 4.44

Atmosphere: 3.50

Value: 4.17

Our Order:

1 Vegetarian Thin Crust (Spinach, peppers, green olives & mushrooms)

1 Hawaiian Thin Crust (Canadian Bacon & pineapple)

1 “Man Pizza” Pan Pizza (Sausage, pepperoni, peppers & onions)

1 Pan Pizza (1/2 Sausage, 1/2 Cheese)

We’ll start with the thin crust, which was a little thicker than expected, but still delicious. Mary echoed my sympathies by saying “This thin crust needs to go on a diet, it was looking a little thick tonight.” The crust was extra crispy all the way through and Pequod’s does not skimp on the toppings. These were, by far, the best Hawaiian and Vegetarian pizzas we’ve had. Here’s how the thin crust stacks up:

Crust: 3.72

Sauce: 4.28

Toppings: 4.78

Cheese: 4.39

Overall Quality: 4.61

Overall Taste: 4.28

Average: 4.34

On to the “Pan Pizza.” In my opinion, Pequod’s pan pizza is deep dish pizza, so keep this in mind when placing your order. Deep Dish or Pan, no matter your opinion, was delicious. Again, the toppings were plentiful -- the photos do not do the size of the sausage justice -- this was some serious sausage! The crust was, as Kevin so cleverly stated, “Carmelized, as publicized.” The carmelized crust just means that the cheese bubbles over and burns on the outside of the crust -- it made it extra crispy, and tasted pretty good. The bottom of the crust was pretty thick, but this was the best deep dish we’ve had yet. Here are the scores for the deep dish:

Crust: 4.25

Sauce: 4.28

Toppings: 4.72

Cheese: 4.22

Overall Quality: 4.50

Overall Taste: 4.39

Average: 4.39

Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed Pequod’s pizza. I feel like I haven’t really done the place justice. We all struggled to comment on it since it was so good. Mitch and Dan both felt that it was “hard to be funny about something so good.” So, I encourage you to go out and try Pequod’s for yourself -- I don’t think you’ll regret it!

Stop #3 Art of Pizza

3033 N. Ashland Ave.

Chicago, IL 60657

Well, I’m going to come right and say it: Art of Pizza got very mixed reviews from our panel. I am going to try and be fair to both sides, but I will say, those that did not like the pizza far outweighed those that did like it.

Art of Pizza is not your typical pizza restaurant. They sell pizza by the slice -- which is great if you’re in a hurry -- it’s hot and ready to go! They do have ample seating if you’d like to dine in, but you still have to place your order up at the counter. They have a lot to offer on the menu, including thin crust, pan pizza, and stuffed deep dish pizza. Don’t be fooled by “pan” pizza -- it’s actually as thick as deep dish, just not “stuffed” (when the sauce is on top). I will also warn anyone willing to try this pizza after reading our scores, no matter what you order, you get a TON of pizza. Please be conservative on your order, or give your leftovers to someone who needs them (i.e. someone who lives and works under the Kennedy Expressway).

All right, here we go ... again, this is going to be brutal. If you’re an Art of Pizza lover, do yourself a favor and stop reading.

Here’s what we ordered:

Stuffed Art’s Special (Deep Dish)

-- Sausage, onion, mushroom & green peppers

Meaty Delight (Pan Pizza)

-- Sausage, bacon, ground beef, pepperoni & sliced beef (I know ... )

Vegetarian (Thin Crust)

-- Mushroom, onion, green pepper, tomato, broccoli & spinach

Hawaiian (Thin Crust)

-- Pineapple, Canadian bacon & green peppers

To sum it up, this order was “Quantity, with no regard for quality.”

Our average score for Art of Pizza was a 2.55/5. Service, Atmosphere and Value ranked rather low as well -- remember, we did have to order at the counter and actually found ourselves clearing our own crowded table a couple of times. The service factor coupled with the fact that Art of Pizza does not serve alcohol, our price per person was not enough lower at this restaurant to merit a high mark for value. This is an average of our scores for Deep Dish and Thin Crust. Not everyone at the table tried the pan pizza and only one person gave it a rating. To sum things up on that, Kyle said “The sliced beef on the pan pizza was atrocious!” Sliced beef on a pizza ... seriously??

<-- Meaty Delight

Service- 1.88

Atmosphere - 1.50

Value - 2.88

We’ll start with the Thin Crust.

Crust - 2.14

Sauce - 3.43

Toppings - 2.21

Cheese - 3.14

Overall Quality - 2.50

Overall Taste - 2.43

Average - 2.46/5

Coming directly from a thin crust pizza fan, this pizza was gross. The scores speak for themselves. Despite the fact that they have a lot of toppings to offer, they really did not work well together and did not taste very good. The crust itself was impossible to cut through and resembled cardboard to me. I hate to be so negative, but there really just isn’t much to say. I guess I can add the fact that Art of Pizza’s claim to fame is the “#1 Deep Dish in Chicago.”

<--Hawaiian

Vegetarian -->

Moving on to the thick crust (sorry, but the statement above did not ring true among our group).

Crust - 2.36

Sauce - 3.93

Toppings - 2.57

Cheese - 2.57

Overall Quality - 2.43

Overall Taste - 2.79

Average - 2.61/5

We did have a few fans of this deep dish pizza in our group (obviously, not enough to help out the average). To start off on a positive note, Elizabeth loves Art of Pizza deep dish. She loved the proportion of ingredients, and although the crust was a little doughy on the bottom “it made [her] like it all the more ... Yum!” I will add to Elizabeth’s compliments of the deep dish with the fact that the sauce was delicious! Unfortunately, the compliments stop here. I know we had some fans, but the doughy crust made the deep dish (read: a lot of food) a little too heavy and tended to overwhelm the flavor. The toppings, however, were distributed pretty evenly which received mixed reviews from our group. The deep dish fared (slightly) better than the thin crust among our group. #1 Deep Dish in Chicago? Doubtful.

Art's Special

Up until this trip to Art of Pizza, I have heard nothing but good things about the place and it was packed while we were there. I think Dan summed it all up with his Cubs-charged comment: “Worse than Alfonso Soriano. In my opinion, this place went 0 for 3 tonight. Unfortunately for Art of Pizza, unlike Alfonso Soriano, it won’t have a chance to redeem itself.” That’s Dan’s choice (and that of many others in our group), but it’s up to you whether to give it a chance or not.

Follow me on Twitter (sebarnett) to receive live updates when we visit the latest Pizza Challenge Candidate (or Victim this month). The Blog is usually updated within 24-48 hours.

Stop #2 Bricks Chicago

1909 N. Lincoln Ave.

Chicago, IL 60614

312-255-0851

So stop number two on the Pizza Challenge brought us to Bricks, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Despite its rather eerie entrance (in the basement of an apartmen

t building, same entrance as the late night bar formerly known as Katacombs), the restaurant itself is very inviting and not at all what it appears it may be when you walk down the stairs. So, if you decide to visit Bricks -- come on down!

Bricks offers an impressive list of pizzas to choose from which includes interesting combinations, making it difficult to decide what to order -- especially when you’re sitting at a table of 8. The pizza at Bricks is thin crust, and

despite some of the comments from our crowd, it is designed to be crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. Because the pizzas themselves are so unique, I will tell you what we thought of each one separately giving you our total scores for Bricks at the end.

Our Order:

<--- Green Garden: Pesto Sauce, mushroom, red peppers, fresh tomatoes & mozzarella.

This pizza is a delightful take on your average vegetarian pizza; the pesto sauce is a delicious twist!

Red Planet: Sausage, red pepper, purple onion, goat cheese, tomato sauce & mozzarella.

An oldie but a goodie -- as always quite tasty.-->

The Ditka: “da-za. all the meat. lots of cheese.”

Not as meaty as it sounds -- a great meat lovers pizza.

<---The Beverly: (On Special that night) Sausage, artichokes, jalapeno peppers & mozzarella.

If they have this on special, get it. It was a favorite among the table.

<---The Kapalua: (On Special that night) Pineapple, Canadian bacon, & mozzarella.

Mary say

s this “Hawaiian pizza was like a luau in [her] mouth!”

Score: 3.99/5

Here's how it all broke down:

Service: 3.25

Atmosphere: 3.88

Value: 3.93

Crust: 3.56

Sauce: 3.63

Toppings: 4.56

Cheese: 4.31

Overall Quality: 4.44

Overall Taste: 4.31

Overall this pizza was fabulous, and according to Kyle “will be tough to beat!” I am a big fan of Bricks, and have been for years. The toppings are delicious and the chefs over at Bricks just know how to put them together. The price came out to be the same as Pizano’s, and in my opinion, a wayy better value than its competitor. This is just my kind of pizza.

With its excellent selection of toppings and delicious pre-selected combinations, Bricks is an early front runner for the top pizza in Chicago.

Stay tuned for next month’s contender!

Stop#1: Pizano's Pizza & Pasta

Pizano's Pizza & Pasta

864 N. State St.

Chicago, IL

(For additional locations, visit http://www.pizanoschicago.com/state.html)

Our virgin “Pizza Challenge” voyage found us on North State Street at Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta. Pizano’s was founded by Rudy Malnati Jr. (yes, Rudy is related to the very well-known Lou Malnati). The Malnati Family has a deep-rooted history in Chicago Pizza; this will not be the last time the Pizza Challenge will visit a Malnati-owned restaurant this year. Enough of the history ... let’s get on to the real deal here.

Upon walking into Pizano’s we were enveloped with an authentic Italian feel -- Sinatra music in the background, actual Italians eating in the restaurant (see photo at right) and plenty of chianti flowing! We found the restaurant surprisingly busy for a Sunday evening and took this as a good sign. We were told we would have to wait 25 minutes for a table, but were seated in less than 10! Our server received mixed reviews from our crowd; I, personally, thought he lacked personality. Other than that, I can’t complain about him. He got our order right and he was prompt. Overall, he hit the mark as a server. (I’m going to let the personality thing go.) Off to a solid start for good ol’ Pizano’s.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, for Pizano’s), we did not find the best pizza in Chicago on our first stop. After some appetizers, we dove right into the good stuff ...

Our Order:

Deep Dish -- Sausage, Green Pepper & Onions

Thin Crust -- 1 Pepperoni, 1 Vegetarian

I’ll start with the deep dish. For anyone who knows and loves Chicago Deep Dish, Pizano’s is not the place to go for that widely renowned fare. Our group had several issues with the deep dish, starting with the lack of sauce and, for those of you familiar with infamous Lou Malnati’s sausage patty, the toppings (other than cheese) were sparse. If it’s possible, more than one person at the table found this pizza “too cheesy”. Mary’s take on the deep dish hit it right on the mark: “It was neither thick nor deep enough.”

Score: 2.88/5

I have some better news for Pizano’s thin crust, which is what they are known for anyway (Ranked #1 in Chicago, according to their website). The crust was pretty crispy and delicious (4.3/5). Our table was a fan of the pepperoni, in particular. Elizabeth said it was “just what [she] needed, which ironically, was the song playing at the time.” The veggie pizza, on the other hand, only had 3 vegetables on it, one of them being mushrooms which were very few and far between. Overall, we enjoyed the thin crust much more than deep dish and it gets our stamp of approval.

Score: 3.29/5

Here’s the run down on overall scoring -- by the way, we called an audible and added cheese to our list of categories.

Service: 3.75

Atmosphere: 4.44

Value: 3.38

Deep Dish/Thin Crust

Crust: 3.25/4.31

Sauce: 2.13/2.75

Toppings: 2.63/2.5

Cheese: 2.94/3.44

Overall Quality: 3.00/3.13

Overall Taste: 3.31/3.63

I can’t sign off without commending Kevin for delivering the quote of the night in reference to his thin crust pizza experience: “Bullseye! There was no escaping the union of cheese and pepperoni. It was like Snooki and “the Situation” in the hot tub!” It really only applies to the first 15 seconds of this clip, but for all you Jersey Shore lovers out there, I just couldn’t resist! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wduuUMviVqQ

The evening, in general, was very enjoyable. Pizano’s ranked pretty highly in the service, atmosphere and value categories. We would recommend it if you’re out and about looking for a well-priced, tasty meal in Chicago (especially those looking for a good thin crust pizza). For you die-hard deep dish fans, keep reading ...

The Challenge

In a City full of fabulous food, it can be difficult to decide where to go for the best. My friends and I have decided that in 2010, we will take this challenge on. We have decided to challenge Chicago. It is our goal to find the best pizza in Chicago. Although Chicago is known for its deep dish pizza, the challenge will include all types of pizza. We will sample pizza all over the City from the crunchiest of thin crusts to the gooiest deep dish that can be found. Many in this group think that this challenge already has a winner, but who knows, maybe they'll surprise themselves.

So, here's what we're going to do:

We have selected 12 highly regarded places to get pizza in Chicago (from a variety of sources -- including ourselves!). We will visit one each month throughout 2010. We rate each pizza place and keep all our loyal readers -- let's be honest, probably my mom & dad -- up to date on where we've been and providing a review of each stop along the way. At the end of 2010, based on our personal preferences (and the help of a standardized rating system) we will name "The Best Place to get Pizza" in Chicago.

We will be rating each pizza place under the following criteria (on a scale of 1-5):

• Service
• Atmosphere
• Value
• Crust
• Sauce
• Toppings
• Overall Quality
• Overall Taste

Where's the first stop? Check back to find out and see what we thought! (You can bet that's going to be soon since we are going to one place a month and it's January 29th!)

Start looking for those 5's!